While substantial effort and attention continues toward the development of newer and more sustainable energy supplies, the conservation of energy by increased energy efficiency remains crucial to the world's energy future. According to an October 2010 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, heating and cooling account for 56% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most homes. Along with improvements in the physical plant associated with home heating and cooling (e.g., improved insulation, higher efficiency furnaces), substantial increases in energy efficiency can be achieved by better control and regulation of home heating and cooling equipment. By activating heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment for judiciously selected time intervals and carefully chosen operating levels, substantial energy can be saved while at the same time keeping the living space suitably comfortable for its occupants.
Historically, however, most known HVAC thermostatic control systems have tended to fall into one of two opposing categories, neither of which is believed be optimal in most practical home environments. In a first category are many simple, non-programmable home thermostats, each typically consisting of a single mechanical or electrical dial for setting a desired temperature and a single HEAT-FAN-OFF-AC switch. While being easy to use for even the most unsophisticated occupant, any energy-saving control activity, such as adjusting the nighttime temperature or turning off all heating/cooling just before departing the home, must be performed manually by the user. As such, substantial energy-saving opportunities are often missed for all but the most vigilant users. Moreover, more advanced energy-saving settings are not provided, such as the ability to specify a custom temperature swing, i.e., the difference between the desired set temperature and actual current temperature (such as 1 to 3 degrees) required to trigger turn-on of the heating/cooling unit.
In a second category, on the other hand, are many programmable thermostats, which have become more prevalent in recent years in view of Energy Star (US) and TCO (Europe) standards, and which have progressed considerably in the number of different settings for an HVAC system that can be individually manipulated. Unfortunately, however, users are often intimidated by a dizzying array of switches and controls laid out in various configurations on the face of the thermostat or behind a panel door on the thermostat, and seldom adjust the manufacturer defaults to optimize their own energy usage. Thus, even though the installed programmable thermostats in a large number of homes are technologically capable of operating the HVAC equipment with energy-saving profiles, it is often the case that only the one-size-fits-all manufacturer default profiles are ever implemented in a large number of homes. Indeed, in an unfortunately large number of cases, a home user may permanently operate the unit in a “temporary” or “hold” mode, manually manipulating the displayed set temperature as if the unit were a simple, non-programmable thermostat.
In a more general sense, important issues arise at the interface between (i) energy-saving technologies that might be achievable using known sensing and processing methods, and (ii) the actual widespread user adoption of devices that implement such energy-saving technologies and the integration of those devices into their daily routines and environment. It has been found especially important that the “first contact” between a user and an energy-saving device constitute a particularly easy, enjoyable, and pleasant experience, or else the user can quickly “turn off” or “tune out” to the device and its energy-saving advantages.
Although the scope of the present teachings hereinbelow is not necessarily limited to thermostats but rather can extend to a variety of different smart-home devices, the installation of an intelligent, energy-saving, network-connected thermostat presents particular issues that are well addressed by one or more of the embodiments herein. One the one hand, it is desirable to provide an intelligent, energy-saving, network-connected a thermostat that accommodates easy do-it-yourself installation for ordinary users who desire to perform their own installation. On the other hand, because HVAC equipment configurations in some homes can get rather complex, and because the consequences of improper installation can sometimes be severe, it is sometimes important that professionals get involved in the installation process.
It would be desirable to provide an intelligent, energy-saving, network-connected thermostat that can provide both do-it-yourself simplicity in scenarios where that is proper and safe, and yet that also has the ability to accommodate more complex HVAC systems and identify the potential need for professional assistance, all while being user-friendly and providing a pleasing first contact with the user as well as any professionals who may ultimately get involved. Other issues arise as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure.